I think I have a hard disk failure or error. It states the disk name:TOSHIBA MQ01ABF050 and the volume C:;D: . I have a HP Pavilion TS Sleekbook 14 with windows 8.1 (I upgraded from the Windows 8 which came in with the laptop) and I unknowingly created a recovery image on a Windows 8 compatible usb successfully when I was already experiencing problems with my laptop hard drive. I later found out that it is not recommended to create a recovery image on a windows 8 compatible usb.

I'm hoping to just go back to factory settings and wipe out all my files if that can get my laptop back in working condition as I have already backed up my important documents to USB. My following question's are

1.) Will the recovery image that I created with the usb that's windows 8 compatible not work if I try to do a factory reset? 2.) Will the recovery image that I created while having the errors already, be techically "clean," meaning it has all the necessary components for a running laptop once I replace my hard drive or do a recovery with the current hard drive in place?3.) Will I be able to restore from the recovery partition? or does the hard disk failure affect that drive as well?

My USB flash drive is also compatible with windows 8 AND 7. Is it possible to just transfer it to just a windows 7 compatible usb if I'll encounter problems due to the windows 8 compatibility of the flash drive I've used for the recovery image creation.

If needed be in the future, could I use a recovery flash drive created on Pavilion 15 Windows 8.1 64 bits for recovery on a second computer with same operating system (Pavilion 17 Windows 8.1 64 bits). I just want to avoid having to buy a second expensive usb key, I paid 75 euros for the first one.

HP Pavilion 14-b109wm Windows 8.1 How can I get the BIOS to boot from USB Drive first? I change the order in the BIOS but goes to Hard Drive first even when saving while exitting the BIOS? Trying to use a Password Recovery Program from my USB Drive to redo my admin password?

I have an HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15 (Model: 15-b022es) in which i'm tryig to install Linux. Since the day I bought it, I've been unable to boot anything directly through USB. I've searched a lot on this topic, and the usual causes are Boot devices order, Secure boot or Legacy Support options. That is certainly not the case, since I have tried all possible combinations. In fact, the exact symptoms that my laptop exhibits aren't described anywhere I've found. This being:

If I insert an USB drive in any port of the laptop, it renders the computer completely unable to boot. It's not that it freezes, it restarts again and again, but never goes beyound a black screen and making some HDD sounds (usual boot up sounds, nothing weird). Within this state, with the USB still inserted, I can access the BIOS configuration by pressing F10, but can not access boot devices menu (usually available at F9), because pressing F9 will just cause a new reboot.

In the past I accessed the boot menu by not inserting any USB and then pressing F9, then I entered the USB, entered and left some random folder to force refresh the display (and so show the USB), and finally selected my USB. This is a bit hacky, and I can no longer apply this solution, since my HDD is completely erased now and there is no folder I can enter to refresh the screen and display the usb drive.

Now the thing is: I can't manage to install any operating system back into my laptop if I can't boot from USB, so how can I do that? Right now all I get are continuous resets of the machine before even getting to the boot menu. And what is the cause for all those reset?

For some reason my x61 will not allow me to boot to usb flash drive, which i normally use to install OS'. What could be wrong and what i could do to rectify it?

I should mention that USB is enabled in the BIOS, and the usb flash disk install works on other computers.

Update appeared to be some incompatibility with wintoflash, i used the Microsoft DVD/USB tool and it booted to the flash drive and completed the install. Strangely the wintoflash install worked fine in an HP dv3000.

I just got a new Lenovo W540. I installed a new Samsung EVO SSD inside to replace the stock mechanical hard drive. I'm now trying to boot from a flash drive to clean install Windows. I've done this so many times before on other laptops and desktops without a problem. For some reason now it will not boot from the flash drive. It shows it as available in the BIOS but it looks like it reads it for just a second and then goes right back to the screen that allows me to choose which drive I want to put to.The same flash drive works fine in other computers to boot to.I did check to make sure the USB drive was not excluded in the BIOS and it is not.

I have been getting a random blue screen popping up every once and a while, that will "dump my physical memory" or something and then reboot itself after like 30 seconds. my hard drive was the reason for these constant errors. So I backed everything up, in preparation of a real crash. I am in the process of ordering a new hard drive from Newegg.com, and I would like to know if it is hard to replace a hard drive in a notebook, or if I should have Geek Squad do it for $50. Also, I dont think I have the Operating system disc that came with my computer, so how do I order that from HP and how much is it?And last but not least, Is there a post or video with instructions on how to install a hard drive and the operating system?

I have a HP 15 Notebook PC with no dvd drive recently I was sent the system recovery cds from HP. I dont have an external dvd drive. What i do have is a Toshiba Satelight laptop with Widows 7 and a good dvd drive. Also I have a 500 GB external hard drive. I was thinking maybe I could copy the disks onto the external harddrive with the Toshiba dvd drive. Then attach the external hard drive to my HP 15 Notebook by usb port and install Hp recovey disks from the external hard drive.

I am so tired of receiving Low Disk Space on recovery (D). I have done everything it asked. Empty Recycle Bin which is EMPTY. I am not a computer wizard but it seems unfair that I have pay over $150.00 year to correct this problem once a year. I have checked a lot of places and it just keeps telling me the same thing. That doesn't work.

My uncle has a Dell Inspiron 1545 with 3Gb RAM, 160 Gb HD and Windows Vista Home Premium. On boot up there is an error message stating that a back up should be performed immediately as the hard drive has a serious problem.

The good news is that I managed to make a clone of the 160 Gb HD to a 1000 Gb HD (Western Digital Blue) using Paragon software before the original drive failed. The bad news is that the cloning process stopped at 42%, but this 42% included the recovery partition and another part of the HD called Dell Utility.

I installed the cloned WD drive and pressed F8 on boot up, but the advanced boot menu did not appear. Instead I get the error message 'no bootable devices'.

I ran the diagnostics program using F5. All the tests were completed and 'passed'. The BIOS recognizes the new drive as 1000 Gb.

Question: how do I boot the laptop? My uncle does not have any recovery media.

I have an HP Pavilion G6 that I purchased in December 2012. Yesterday I decided to get a new HDD to upgrade it and start fresh. It's a 1TB SSD+HDD hybrid by Seagate. It installed without a hitch, and I used my HP recovery CDs to do a factory format of the disk.It finishes, reboots, but instead of rebooting to the HP Windows 8 setup screens, it goes to what looks like Windows 8 safe mode with a box containing the date, time, and it says something along the lines of "HP diagnostics driver installation" with an OK. Clicking that or not makes it disappear, and there's a command prompt bar at the bottom left hand corner of the screen.The screen changes to an HP screen that begins to install drivers. It finishes, and reboots to a black screen that says "no boot device detected, please install OS."I ran a check of the drive and it's fine. I swapped my regular drive back in, and it loaded up fine. In fact that's what I'm using right now to type this. The boot order was never changed in the BIOs. If it were the connector failing I doubt it would load the drive that's always been in the computer. Loading up the newly formatted drive in an external enclosure shows that Windows 8 is indeed on it, but on a 93GB partition even though the drive is 1TB.

The previous user set login on a fingerprint, forgot the password. I managed to enter as a result after the long operation myself, as the administrator, to set the password, to set an input both according to the password and on a fingerprint.

But, I want to disconnect all this horror absolutely. Also I don't understand as it to make. I can enter BIOS, but the majority of points thus is unavailable.

From a cold state ( computer been off for a more then hour). I need to press the power button twice, Frist press the power button lights and the wireless lights and the screen activate with a glow, then black no lights and black screen press power button again and boots normally and fine No error or warnings

This does not seem to be normal and I can not remember the last time it booted from the first power button push.

I have an HP Pavillion dm4. My hard drive died so I installed a new hard drive. The original OS installed on the computer was Windows 7. I did not get a Windows 7 disk with the computer. If I order the Windows 7 recovery disk from HP, will it install Windows 7 on my new hard drive? I have the COA info.

I have two drives installed. I have Windows 7 64-bit installed on drive 0 and Ubuntu 32-bit installed on drive 1.

I can successfully boot either operating system by the following procedure:

Power upPress escape-key to get to BIOSPress F9-key to get to boot menuBoot menu shows two drives named “Internal Hard Drive”If I select the first entry named “Internal Hard Drive” I boot to Windows 7.If I select the 2nd entry named “Internal Hard Drive” I boot to Ubuntu.

I power up if I do NOT press escape, the machine boots to Windows after the timeout. My Problem: I want to boot to Ubuntu by default.

I've checked the HP bios and I don't believe there is any way to do this by changing the boot priority in BIOS. The BIOS doesn't seem to differentiate between the two hard drives. I only has one entry for “Internal Hard Drive”.

I believe an approach that should work is:

Use bcdedit or easybcd to create a BCD record that points to GRUB.Create a GRUB config file that “chain” loads Ubuntu.Use bcdedit to move the GRUB entry as the default.I've tried various permutations but can't get it to work.

I have a Pavilion DV6-2140EI notebook with a failed hard drive. I purchased a new hard drive but to my surprise, all recovery disks or system image files are useless without the recovery partition on the drive. It appears that HP and Microsoft teamed up to not support hard drive failure. As you no longer get the original operating system on disk anymore, it looks like one is forced to purchase Windows again after hard drive failure.

I have an HP laptop (pavilion dv7-1245dx) and the hard drive died. I had never gotten around to burning my recovery discs, so I ordered new ones from HP. When I installed the new hard drive and popped in the operating system recovery disc, it gave me the error message:

"This PC is not supported by the System Recovery Discs. You will not be able to continue to recover this system with these discs."

Error code: 0100-30FC-3602-3603

The original hard drive was a Hitachi, 320 GB SATAThe new hard drive is a WD 500 GB SATA

The hard drive on my Pavilion 4070-us crashed, so I bought a replacement drive - a Samsung SSD 850 EVO, 256GB. The problem is that I can't seem to get the recovery discs to work, and neither Microsoft or HP support me. Microsoft of course tells me that they won't support for OEM versions of Windows 7, and HP said that my product has been discontinued. I own a legal copy of Windows 7....

What happens after I go through the installation process with the recovery discs is that instead of the Windows installation continuing like it's supposed to, I get "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key". I'm desperate, I tried two different options - one was the minimal image recovery, the other one was a factory restore. Nothing seems to work. What can I do? By the way, the original hard drive is not *completely* dead - I can still access most of the data on it.